Venice Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Criminal Charge for Selling Fentanyl that Caused Los Angeles Man’s Fatal Overdose

          LOS ANGELES – A Venice man who sold the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl to a 19-year-old man who suffered a fatal overdose last year pleaded guilty today to a federal narcotics offense.

          Julian Miles Mayers-Johnson, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He has been in custody since his arrest on April 17.

          Mayers-Johnson admitted in his plea agreement that on October 19, 2018, outside a fast-food restaurant in Venice, he knowingly possessed fentanyl, intending to distribute it. That same evening, at the same location, Mayers-Johnson sold one-half gram of fentanyl to the victim, who was residing at a sober living home in the Beverlywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to court documents. The victim later ingested the fentanyl that Mayers-Johnson supplied, resulting in the victim’s overdose on October 20, and, one day later, the victim’s death, the plea agreement states.

          A search of the victim’s cell phone resulted in law enforcement determining that Mayers-Johnson sold the fatal dose of fentanyl to the victim, according to court documents.

          United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II scheduled a May 4, 2020 sentencing hearing, at which time Mayers-Johnson will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

          This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Opioid Response Team, which is tasked with investigating suspected opioid-related overdose deaths in Los Angeles County.

          This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys J. Jamari Buxton and Ali Moghaddas of the General Crimes Section.